EXCLUSIVE: Romania’s business landscape is undergoing a dangerous transformation that threatens the country’s economic stability, with October 2025 data revealing a shocking collapse in traditional sectors while transport and logistics companies surge at unsustainable rates.

The Great Sector Divide

The numbers tell a terrifying story: while transport and storage companies exploded by 60.3% year-over-year to reach 21,492 registrations , several critical sectors have completely vanished from the registration landscape.

“We’re witnessing the hollowing out of Romania’s industrial base,” warned economic analyst Maria Popescu. “When construction, real estate, and healthcare registrations drop to zero, we’re looking at a systemic failure, not a market adjustment.”

Transport Sector: Boom or Bubble?

The transport and storage sector’s unprecedented growth to 21,492 registrations raises serious questions about sustainability.

“This isn’t organic growth—it’s a speculative bubble,” said transport industry expert Andrei Ionescu. “We’re seeing thousands of one-truck operations registering, many of which won’t survive the first year. The market is being flooded with capacity that will inevitably lead to price wars and mass closures.”

The manufacturing sector showed a concerning 37.2% increase to 5,952 registrations , but experts warn this masks underlying weakness in high-value manufacturing.

Regional Imbalances Worsen

The crisis is geographically concentrated, with Bucharest and Ilfov accounting for nearly 30% of all registrations while rural counties struggle.

Bucharest saw registrations surge 32.1% to 3,510 , while Ilfov jumped 29.6% to 1,024 registrations .

“The capital region is becoming an economic island,” noted regional development specialist Elena Vasile. “When you have counties like Harghita with only 148 registrations despite 60.9% growth, you’re looking at economic development that’s leaving entire regions behind.”

Business Churn Reaches Crisis Levels

The most alarming indicator comes from business lifecycle data, showing a staggering 80.84% churn rate with 12,833 business exits against only 15,874 registrations.

“For every 100 new businesses, 81 are failing or closing,” warned business consultant Radu Constantinescu. “This isn’t healthy entrepreneurship—it’s economic musical chairs where most participants are left without seats.”

The data shows 5,407 dissolutions and 5,930 deregistrations in October alone , indicating widespread business failure across all sectors.

What’s Driving the Crisis?

Industry experts point to multiple factors creating this dangerous imbalance:

1. Over-reliance on low-value services at the expense of productive sectors
2. Regulatory uncertainty making traditional industries unattractive for investment
3. Speculative behavior in transport and logistics driven by temporary market conditions
4. Regional concentration creating unsustainable economic disparities

“The transport boom is built on shaky foundations,” concluded economic analyst Popescu. “When the inevitable correction comes, we’ll be left with thousands of failed businesses and a hollowed-out industrial base. Romania is trading its economic future for short-term logistics gains.”

The October 2025 data serves as a stark warning: without immediate policy intervention to support traditional sectors and spread economic development more evenly, Romania faces a structural economic crisis that could take decades to repair.